Color-applying device and method of making the same



THOD OF MAKING THE SAME Feb. 17, 1931 J. W. WOLSTENHOLME COLOR APPLYING DEVICE AND ME Filed July 12 l/I/l/ll/l/I/i/lYi/II/IIIIIIII/II/IIIIII,

INVENTOR 4 ATTORNEY Patented Feb. 17, 1931 JOHN W. WOLST'ENHOLME, OF NEWTON, NEW JERSEY COLOR-APPLYING DEVICE AND METHOD OF MAKING THE SAME Application filed July 12, 1928.

The present invention relates to an improvementin color applying devices and methods of making the same. In the textile printing industry, the roller orother cylin- 5 drical device ordinarily used to transfer the color or printing fluid from a conveniently located receptacle to the surface of the printing roller -is known as a furnisher brush or roller. According to present practice, this de- 10 vice consists of a smooth turned wooden,

metal or rubber roller either directly engaging the peripheral surface of the printing roller or more frequently carrying a fabric covering known as lapping interposed between the printing roller and the color applying roller. A different lapping must be provided for each color so that considerable time is consumed in changing lappings. In some cases the roller is provided with hair or fibre bristles set into its peripheral surface. Among the disadvantages inherent in the use of the bristle or hair brush roller is that it is practically impossible to successfully use such a brush with a lighter color after the same brush has been used with a darker color unless the brush had been thoroughly cleansed between the two operations. Furthermore, frequent washing of the hair and bristle brushes causes the bristles to loosen or break off and fall into the color reservoir whence they are carried up to the printing roller and cause what are known in the textile printing art as snaps, motes and the like, these being irregularities in printing caused by an un even distribution of the coloring fluid on the printing roller. A'similar difficulty is encountered in the use of the cloth lapping which sheds portions of its fibre content and causes a great deal of delay and loss by reason thereof.

Furthermore, in the use of furnisher brushes heretofore known, to secure good results it has been necessary to very carefully adjust the furnisher brush with respect to the printing roller to get the proper degree of contact pressure and to have that pressure uniform across the entire width of the roller. In the case of wooden rollers this adjustment is diflicult to secure and retain in view of the o tendency of wood to warp. Any disarrange- Serial No. 292,204.

ment or maladjustment of the roller or furnisher brush has been found to produce an uneven distribution of coloring, either too great a concentration or too thin a layer so that the resulting printed fabric is imperfect and is very often rejected, thus causing the printer serious losses.

An object of my invention has been to provide a color applying device whereby the losses and delays due to the difficulties hereinabove set forth may be reduced to a minimum. This result is achieved in part by the use of a roller made of rubber or presenting a channeled rubber surface or one having a rough or uneven texture. A preferred embodiment of my invention is illustrated in the drawings accompanying the present specification and in which Figure 1 is a side view;

Figure 2, a detail view partly in section; and I Figure 3, a diagrammatic View illustrating a method of making the improved furnisher brush.

Referring to the drawings, a color applying device according to my invention includes a roller made of any suitable material and presenting a yielding peripheral portion having a channeled or irregular surface. I prefer to use an aluminum cylinder 1 which is covered With a layer of rubber 2, said layer being provided with a plurality of intersecting grooves which form protuberances 3. As indicated in Figure 1, the grooves have a spiral direction but it is contemplated that they may extend in any desired direction. Favorable results have been achieved where the rubber has been provided with grooves about 1 inch in depth and inch across.

A further desirable color carrying and distributing facility is achieved by the provision of-incisions, as 4, extending beneath the edges of the protuberances 3. These incisions or slots not only form a color receiving recess or reservoir for a continuous and easily available supply of coloring fluid but they also contribute to the elasticity and flexibility of the protuberances.

It is contemplated that a furnisher brush having the characteristics hereinabove described may be made in any suitable or desirable manner, as by molding, pressing or other method well known in the rubber industry. I have found, however, that an effective brush is produced by cutting the grooves or channels in the cylindrical surface of a rubber roller by means of knives 5, Figure 3, or other cutting instruments arranged at suitable angles so that, as the cylinder is rotated, parallel incisions or channels, as 6 and 7, are made with the knives arranged at different angles to the surface of the rubber cylinder. Furthermore, to produce the protuberances 3, the end of one knife extends to or slightly beyond or across the path or incision of the other knife. The incisions, color receiving recesses, or slots 4. are formed when the front or end of one knife extends beyond the path of the other knife.

In operation, my improved form of furnisher brush is either positively rotated by means of gear connections or is driven by contact with the printing roller, as 8. It rotates in contact with a supply of coloring fluid in the usual manner and this fluid is carried up by it and applied to the surface of the printing rollerwhere the distribution is very even as compared with distribution by means of the furnisher brushes heretofore referred to and known in the prior art.

In addition to producing better technical effects and better printing, my improved furnisher brush effects considerable saving in manipulation. For example, the rubber surface is very easily and thoroughly cleaned by a simple washing operation. It carries no lint or fibres and the grooves and incisions in its surface provide a space in which particles of dust or other foreign matter may find lodgment so that they are not normally transferred to the surface of the printing roller. Other advantages and economies attributable to the improvement hereinafove described will be more apparent from a further consideration of said device and its mode of use.

I claim as my invention:

1. A furnisher brush comprising a cylindrical base provided with intersecting peripheral grooves forming protuberances and with incisions extending beneath said protuberances.

2. The method of making a furnisher brush which includes making a plurality of incisions in a cylinder at an angle to the surface thereof and a plurality of incisions parallel therewith and at a difierent angle to said surface to form grooves.

8. A furnisher brush comprising a cylindrical base having elevations and depressions in its peripheral surface and with portions of said elevations overlying portions of said depressions.

4. A furnisher brush comprising a cylindrical base having elevations and depressions in its peripheral surface said elevations having undercut lateral portions.

5. A furnisher brush comprising a cylin- I name to this specification this 2nd day of July, 1928.

JOHN W. WOLS'IENHOLME. 

